Best Thing I Ever Did
by dcj
Summary: Taking advice from Sam Swarek hadn't really worked out well the last time so why was Oliver willing to chance it again? Maybe a little push from Andy and a reminder that Sam didn't always give bad advice.


Just a quick one-shot that came to mind and had to be indulged. I hope you enjoy it.

Now that I have this out of my system, I can decide what happens with Boyd in Accidents Don't Just Happen.

Don't forget to vote for the Rookie's Choice Awards; you can find the ballot information in 'The Parade' section of the Forum.

As always, thank you to SairsJ for the extra set of eyes and...I own nothing Rookie Blue.

* * *

Andy had rushed through her usual routine after shift and had been resting against the wall outside the men's locker room for the last ten minutes. She wasn't about to miss him.

The second she saw him emerge, she pushed off the wall and fell into step beside him. She offered him her best smile before asking, "Give a girl a ride home?"

"Do I look like a chauffeur to you, McNally?"

Her grinned broadened as she gave him the once over and he could tell she was trying to picture it. "Let me save you the trouble; the answer is no."

She giggled nervously. "Fine, you don't look like a chauffeur, but I could still use the ride."

"Well, I'm leaving now so unless you're ready…"

"I am," she confirmed as she quickened her pace to keep up with him.

When they reached his spot in the lot, Andy paused at the passenger door. "I hope you're not waiting for an invitation McNally because I'm already this close to changing my mind."

Andy pulled at the handle and settled into the seat before reaching behind her and grabbing the belt. She barely had the latch clicked before he had the car in gear and was backing out of the space.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself for the inevitable reaction to her next question. "Do you mind if we stop at the grocery store on the way?"

He looked over at her and shook his head. "Wow, I don't know how Sammy does it?"

"What?" She asked innocently.

"McNally, Sammy may be more than willing to be at your beck and call…" Oliver chuckled to himself, he really never thought he'd see the day. "And I'm sure it comes with certain… benefits, which I have no interest in hearing about by the way. But I have family… responsibilities…"

Andy furrowed her brow. "I thought you said they were at Zoe's parent's cottage for the rest of the month."

Oliver turned his head and grimaced at her. "Fine. I'm pretty sure there's a cold beer somewhere with my name on it so if you don't mind I'll just drop you off and be on…"

"Come on," Andy encouraged. "With Zoe away, you must be in need of a good home cooked meal."

Oliver schooled his reaction quickly but not before Andy saw his face fall just for a split second. And that's when she was certain she had it right.

"It won't take long," she assured him, "and then you can stay for supper. I'm a decent cook; I promise."

He really wasn't in any mood for company and keeping up the charade over the last few days had worn him out. But when faced with the alternative of going home to an empty house with an empty fridge to try and nurse an equally empty heart, he decided he could keep up the pretense at least long enough to finally have a decent meal. He expelled a long breath. "Don't make me regret this, McNally."

Andy flinched; that was something she wouldn't be able to guarantee so she decided avoidance was her best bet. "You'll enjoy the meal; I promise."

"Well, you're lucky I trust Sammy's judgment and since I've heard him say how good you are…"

Andy choked on the breath she had just taken.

Oliver's face contorted into a look of pure discomfort and he shook his head. "Cooking, McNally; I told you I have no interest in the benefits. Now keep up."

She chuckled as she could hear him grumbling under his breath about already regretting even letting her in the car. She pulled out her cell phone and started to type out a text to Sam; he had called her earlier to tell her he was running behind. 'You going to be long?'

The reply came within seconds. _ 'Yeah. Looks like another couple hours maybe.'_

She could almost see him pinching the bridge of his nose. He was paired with Dov today and with an extra two hours added on to the shift, he probably wouldn't be in the greatest of moods coming home. She was beginning to regret choosing tonight of all nights, but it was too late to back out now.

Before she had a chance to respond; her phone beeped again. '_You'll be home first so you get to make supper.'_

Andy smiled as she typed a message back. 'Home? Aren't you rushing things a little?'

Since they returned from suspension, they generally left together so they either grabbed something or engaged in a lively debate over who should cook. Okay debate may not be the right word but they did try to use their powers of persuasion on each other which generally meant that dinner ended up to be a very late affair. It was understood though that if one got off before the other, they usually got started on things.

_'McNally.'_ One word, but she could just picture the look on his face; she knew exactly what it meant.

'Your house.'

_'Mine?'_

'Yep.' Normally if she was off first, she would head to her house and he would meet her there. But she had decided this morning that it would be much better if this happened at his.

_'Okay then?'_

She knew he was confused but this was not something to be explained via text.

"Sammy going to be home soon?" Oliver wondered breaking her out of her reverie.

"He's going to be a couple of hours but that should give us lots of time to get what we need and then get supper started."

She spotted a building up ahead. "This is good," she instructed pointing to the store. Oliver signaled to pull into the lot.

Andy grabbed one of the small hand baskets and headed to the meat section to pick up some chicken. Once satisfied, she moved back to the produce aisle to find some baby potatoes and the makings for a salad.

Oliver had just come up beside her while she was looking at the spinach. "Were you around when my mom left?" She asked trying to keep her tone as casual as possible.

She could feel him fidgeting beside her as he answered. "Yeah."

"How did my Dad tell you?" She wondered, inspecting the various items for salad.

Oliver furrowed his brow; they had never broached this subject before and he couldn't help but wonder why now. "Um…"

"Did he come right out and say it?" She prompted picking up a couple of more items.

It didn't look like he was getting out of this anytime soon so he decided to bite the bullet. "No, I think we all just figured it out eventually," he shrugged. "I never thought anything of it when she was helping her sick mom for a couple of weeks, but then when she hadn't come back after a month, I asked again and he said she was spending some time at her family's cab…"

Oliver's eyes snapped up to Andy's. She was looking right back at him and they both knew. "Wow, McNally, maybe **you** should be going for the detective rotation."

Andy chuckled lightly out of courtesy. "Nah. Traci's got it in the bag."

"I don't know…" he tried but she wouldn't let him finish.

"Oliver," she cautioned. She wanted him to know that he didn't have to pretend that everything was all fun and games. She knew all too well how it felt to be left behind; though she hoped for his sake that it was short lived.

He frowned as she picked out more food. "I'm not a charity case, McNally."

"I know that, but you don't always have to be the life of the party either. Now come on, we need some ice cream," she stated before taking off to the frozen foods section.

Oliver couldn't help but be charmed by her as he moved to catch up. She let him know that she knew and that he didn't have to pretend for her, but she didn't press him. She knew when to pull back and he appreciated that.

He reached the freezer just as she was pulling out a carton of pistachio ice cream; she had noticed a couple of days ago that Sam was out.

Oliver's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Seriously, McNally? There's a reason why there's so many of them still on the shelf."

Andy just chuckled and looped her arm through his. "Come on; just a couple more things."

After grabbing some milk, juice and eggs just in case, Andy guided them through the checkout and out the door. When Oliver insisted on carrying the bags to the car, she happily handed them over.

"Which way?" He posed as soon as he sat in behind the wheel.

Andy furrowed her brow in question.

"I'm not a mind reader, McNally and I try not to keep track of the toilet factories so…"

"Just head to Sam's," she instructed. "That's fine."

Oliver masked his surprise though he couldn't help but wonder if Sam knew she was taking it upon herself to invite them both over. Obviously he knew they were together, but that she was this comfortable going to Sam's without him there was very telling. _Now, if she had a key…_

"Well, okay then," he agreed signaling and turning in the direction of Sam's.

It was a short drive and they soon found themselves at the top of his stairs lingering at the front door, both waiting for the other to make the next move. "Don't you have a key?" They blurted at the same time.

Oliver wasn't the only one surprised this time. "You're his best friend; didn't he give you a spare key for when he's away?" Andy wondered; _someone had to water his plants and take in the mail._

Oliver grimaced. "Not all of our lives revolve around Sammy," he quipped.

Andy wasn't going to dignify that with a comment; she did however, tilt her head and lift a brow in challenge.

Oliver blew out a breath; she definitely had 'the look' down. He knew it all too well. "I don't carry Sammy's keys everywhere I go, especially when he's around. Maybe if I knew I was going to be hijacked by his girlfriend I would have thought to bring them along."

This time his taunting definitely drew a response. "I'm not… I mean we…."

"Relax, McNally, I'm only kidding, well not about having the keys, but if you don't have them, you must know where he keeps a spare."

If she had been alone, Andy probably would have just picked the lock; instead she reached over and knocked on the adjacent door. An elderly lady answered a few seconds later.

"Hi, Mrs. Pierce."

"Andy, so nice to see you again."

Oliver's eyebrows shot up. _Knows the neighbors… by name._

"Could I possibly borrow Sam's spare key? He's stuck at work and I really need to get these groceries put away," Andy explained offering her best smile.

Sam's neighbor smiled back knowingly. "Of course, Dear. That boy works too hard now doesn't he? Of course, maybe not so much anymore now that he has someone to come home too." She winked. "You know he sure is happy these days; you wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

The blush in Andy's cheeks deepened with every sentence and Oliver was enjoying every minute of it; the grin on his face was growing with each comment. Andy elbowed him in the stomach as soon as the woman had moved out of eye sight. "Stop."

Oliver chuckled softly as Andy glared at him. But he laughed out loud when her winning smile magically appeared as soon as the lady returned with Sam's key.

"Thank you, Mrs. Pierce."

"I'm happy to help, dear. Heaven knows Sam has done a lot to help us out over the years. And always happy to do so, but now that smile is on his face all the time." She leaned over to Andy and motioned her closer. "Whatever you're doing keep it up; I could look at those dimples all day," she whispered with a giggle, "but don't tell the mister."

Obviously Oliver wasn't supposed to hear so he was doing his best to hold it in, but it was almost impossible with Andy standing there mouth agape.

She forced the smile back on her face as she took the key and pushed Oliver aside without ceremony. She made quick work of the lock and shoved Oliver through the door bags and all. "Thank you again," Andy offered, handing back the key. "Sam's lucky to have such wonderful neighbors."

"Oh no, we're the lucky ones; he always seems to be there when we need him." She furrowed her brow. "Of course we haven't seen much of him these last couple of weeks, 'cept of course when he brings you by…"

"Well, thanks." Andy offered before hustling into the house with a quick wave and closing the door behind her. "Shut up," she muttered as Oliver finally burst out laughing. "Kitchen," she commanded with another shove in the right direction.

"You better watch out, McNally; she looks like the jealous type. She might not like Sammy spending all his time with you; of course, if you keep putting those dimples on his face…"

"Sit," she ordered and he chuckled some more when he heard her mumble under her breath as she started putting groceries away.

"Come on, McNally; that was some good stuff," he prompted. "I can't wait to hold it over Sammy's head later."

Andy could see that it was meant as a peace offering and that brought out a hint of a smile. Now that she thought about it, she could probably have fun with it later too. They shared a conspiratory grin.

Oliver watched as Andy flitted around Sam's kitchen preparing the chicken and marinade, placing it in the fridge and then pulling out a beer for each of them before starting on the rest of supper. Although she didn't seem to know exactly where everything was, she did not look out of place either. And if what the neighbor had said was true, she'd been over there a few times. And if Oliver heard correctly, when **she** wasn't there, neither was Sam.

"What can I do, McNally?" Oliver asked after a bit.

Potatoes had been on the barbecue for a while and Andy had just finished putting the teriyaki chicken on to join it. She looked up from the fixings for her salad. "I got it. Oh…" she looked embarrassed. "Can I get you another drink? I'm sorry; I can't believe I didn't…"

Oliver stood up to help himself; he'd been there many a time and never had any problem going into Sam's fridge. "You don't need to baby me, McNally."

Andy frowned but more at herself; she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. "I'm not babying you. You're a friend… well you're Sam's friend and I hope we can be friends." She was starting to ramble so she took a slow breath. She looked back at him. "This is what friends do; they make sure you're okay."

"And what if I'm not?" He asked trying to distract himself by setting out the plates and cutlery she had placed on the counter.

She wasn't sure if he was being purposely difficult and looking to get a rise out of her or not, but she wasn't biting; she wanted him to know that this meant something to her. She met his eye. "Then we work from that. We make sure that you know you're not alone and we're here for you whatever you need… even if it is just a home cooked meal," she finished humbly.

Oliver's eyes softened. "Sammy's a lucky man."

Andy kept her back to Oliver as she busied herself with the salad. He could still see the blush color her neck though.

"Make sure you tell him that," she retorted after a short pause.

"Something tells me he already knows," Oliver offered quietly.

They both turned when they heard a key in the lock and Oliver's eyes again widened as Andy dropped what she was doing and headed straight for the door.

"Andy?" It was out of his mouth before the door had even fully opened.

He dropped his bag just inside the entrance and looked up to see her walking towards him. "Hey," he greeted softly.

"Hey," she whispered back, automatically moving into his arms but then she hesitated just before meeting his lips.

Sam furrowed his brow when he felt her resistance but allowed himself to relax as soon as their lips met. The quick peck was way too short though and he wrapped his hand around her wrist before she could turn away. He was about to ask her what was up when he heard a voice call out from the kitchen counter. "Hey, Sammy."

He looked past Andy to see a smiling Oliver waving mockingly from his perch. Sam nodded in return before his eyes turned back to Andy searching hers.

"I'm just going to go finish getting everything to the table." She gave him another quick kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear. "After supper."

"We'll be ready in five," she announced to the room before looking back at Sam. "Did you need to clean up at all?"

"I'm good," he responded still clearly confused as he moved to join Oliver at the counter.

"I set the table," Oliver bragged hoping to break Sam out of his stupor.

Sam just shook his head and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. It seemed he was going to need it.

* * *

Supper was fairly uneventful. They talked about the day's cases and commiserated with Sam over his time spent with an over eager Epstein. When they were finished, Andy stood and grabbed each of them another beer before she started to clear the table.

"I'll help you," Sam offered following behind her with an armload of his own.

"I'm just going to..." Oliver pointed towards the couch but let the thought drift off as Sam was already leaning in to talk to Andy. "Yeah…" Oliver turned on the TV and flipped it to a ball game.

"I'm good, Sam. Most of it was on the barbecue and the rest can go in the dishwasher; I'm just going to rinse everything and put them in. Go talk with Oliver."

"I want to talk to you for a minute."

He turned her towards him. "Not that I don't love spending time with Oliver, but I wasn't really expecting company tonight." He grinned at her, "present company excepted of course."

She hummed contentedly and kissed him softly. "Did I ever tell you about the time my mom went to her parent's cottage?"

Sam furrowed his brow; she rarely talked about her mother so he was shocked to say the least. He glanced back at Oliver with concern. He didn't want to discourage her, but now just didn't seem like the time. "Uh… I don't think so."

She looked at him pointedly before dropping her gaze back down to her hands. "She never came back."

Sam didn't know what to say but his mind was racing trying to figure out the quickest way to get Oliver out of there. This was heavy stuff and if she wanted to talk, was ready to share…

"Sam."

He startled out of his reverie at her voice. "Huh?"

She stared at him, willing him to just get it.

Sam watched a number of emotions play out across her face, but as soon as her eyes flickered purposefully to Oliver the light went on. _Parent's cabin, not coming back._

He started shaking his head defiantly. "That's not what's going on here," he whispered strongly. He refused to believe it; they were the perfect couple. They were Oliver and Zoe; it was a package deal. He looked at her hoping she'd take it back or at least say she wasn't one hundred percent sure.

She tipped her head to the side and with a tiny shrug offered him a sad smile.

_She was sure._

Andy filled the dishwasher quickly while a stunned Sam leaned against the counter. "I'm going to go home," she announced as she guided Sam towards the living room. "You two should talk."

Oliver let out a humorless chuckle. "You don't have to go, McNally; my house is empty, I'm not looking for a place to stay."

Andy shrugged lightly. "Well, I have things to do at my place so I guess you two will just have to figure out what you're going to do on your own."

Oliver scoffed. "What do you have to do that can't wait a day or two?"

Sam was amused watching the back and forth and was proud of Andy as she held her own; she didn't even hesitate. "I have laundry to do, the sheets need to be washed, and I was hoping to catch up on some sleep so…"

"You don't have to rub it in," Oliver grumbled teasingly.

Andy furrowed her brow in confusion until she realized what she had implied. _Washing the sheets, catching up on sleep. _Her face dropped in horror. "I'm not… I wasn't… I just…" She hung her head.

Sam chuckled. _And she's back. _He rubbed a soothing hand along her back. "Come on; I'll walk you out."

"Hold on." Oliver stood up; he could see that Andy still felt bad about what she had said. She almost looked frightened at what he was going to do. He reached over and plucked her away from Sam's hand and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for supper; it was great."

He could feel the tension release from her body in a shuddering breath. "You're welcome," she answered and then pulled back just a bit. "Talk to him," she urged.

Sam stood back and watched as she comforted his best friend. It was just another thing he loved about her; she cared about everyone.

The tender moment was broken for all of them though when Oliver couldn't resist. "Are you kidding me? The last time I asked Sammy for advice, I ended up on his couch for three days. I'm already in the dog house; how much worse can it get?"

Andy looked at him disapprovingly. "Party's over; remember."

Oliver looked sufficiently chagrined as he remembered their earlier conversation at the store; he didn't have to hide behind the jokes with her and obviously not with Sam either.

She let him off the hook though. "Then don't ask for his advice. Just talk to him, talk it out; he'll listen and who knows, maybe you'll figure some things out."

Oliver simply nodded and Sam stepped in to lead her to the door and give Oliver a few minutes to decide what he wanted to do.

"I think he'd be fine if you stayed too. He's obviously told you more than he's told the rest of us."

Andy shook her head. "I just guessed; now it's up to you. He's your friend and he really needs one right now."

Sam was shaking his head. "I wouldn't even know what to say; I mean I always thought they had it all together. His marriage was supposed to be the role model for the rest of us. Now… what if they don't…" He wasn't even looking at her anymore.

"Hey, hey," she interjected tugging on his arm to bring back his focus. "You don't have to know everything; I think he probably just needs a little reassurance."

"It's hard; I guess I just never expected… I…" Sam shook his head. "He's not the only one," he mumbled under his breath.

She tugged on his arm again. "This has nothing to do with us," she assured him. "I'll see you tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that." She then smiled trying to lighten things up a little. "You can do without me for one night right?"

Sam tried to smile back. "Do I have to?" He moaned, pulling her in close.

She giggled as her hands wrapped around his neck and she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," he agreed but didn't release her from his grip. Instead he leaned in and captured her lips once more. "If it's not too late when he goes home…"

"Sam," she warned.

He reluctantly let go and pulled open the door. "Tomorrow," he grumbled as she made her way out onto the step.

She met his lips one more time before she headed down the stairs. As she turned down the block, he suddenly realized that she had no way of getting home. "Hold on," he called out and she turned in question. "You can take the truck and just pick me up in the morning."

She shook her head. "It's a nice night Sam; don't worry about me."

He dropped his chin; that was like telling him not to breathe.

She grinned. "I'll text you when I get there."

He nodded knowing he probably wouldn't win the argument anyway. More often than not when faced with the choice, she would always choose to walk. And she was quite obviously calling the shots tonight so.

Sam watched until she rounded the corner and with a quick wave she was gone. He took a deep breath preparing himself to face what he knew would not be an easy conversation, if he could even get his friend to open up. He had known Oliver for a lot of years and for all the time they had spent together, conversations like this were few and far between and he knew neither one of them was very good at it. They both preferred to hide behind sarcasm and diversion tactics.

With a click of the lock, Sam spun on his heel to find Oliver apparently engrossed in whatever he had chosen to watch on the TV so Sam walked past him into the kitchen to fix them a real drink. "Well at least we don't have to worry about your other baby leaving too?" Oliver taunted.

Sam grabbed a bottle from the shelf in the pantry. _Yeah he was going to need it._

"Scotch?" Sam offered.

When Oliver answered with, "make it a double," Sam had a feeling that he **would** be looking for a place to stay tonight.

Sam grabbed a couple of glasses from the cupboard and set them on the counter before pulling open the freezer to grab some ice. As he reached inside, he noticed a new tub of pistachio ice cream and he had to smile at Andy's thoughtfulness and then he wondered if she had gotten it for a reason. _Did guys eat ice cream when they were upset? Did he? Sometimes, but… was that why he did it? He knew his sister did for sure and McNally, she could work through a whole tub on her own when she'd had a bad day. He really wasn't good at this. _ He poked his head out from behind the door. "You, uh, want some ice cream?"

Oliver looked at him liked he'd grown an extra head. "First of all, do I look like a girl to you? And second of all, if you're offering that crap McNally bought at the store, forget it. That's not comfort that's punishment." Oliver shook his head. "If my girls have taught me anything, it's that chocolate is the only way to go when you're…"

Oliver's voice just drifted off to silence and all Sam could do was watch the sadness take over. He knew his friend was thinking about what he was missing.

"Sorry I'm not much help."

Oliver huffed out a breath. "You know it's ironic."

"What's that?" Sam asked, handing him his glass.

"That she asked for space when her biggest complaint was that I was never around."

Sam really wasn't used to seeing a melancholy Oliver; it wasn't natural. "What are you going to do?"

Oliver shook his head. "I don't know. Skip the Penny a little more often. Maybe include the family a little more; maybe you guys could come over instead of drinking there. You think you'd be okay with that? You can bring McNally if you want; Zoe might like having another girl around."

Sam nodded; he would do whatever it took to help his friend. Where they drank didn't really matter to him; it was just nice to get together._ Maybe they could even have everyone over too; he'd have to check with Andy but…_

"Mostly I'm just going to ask her what she wants and tell her I'll do it," Oliver continued breaking Sam from his thoughts.

"You can't just say it," Sam advised. "I know that much."

Oliver knew he was right; he had to be prepared to make some big changes. "I know; whatever it takes. I just want my family back. I want to be able to check on my kids and see that they're all safe and I want to hear Zoe breathing beside me so I can finally get a good night's sleep."

Sam couldn't believe he had missed it but now that the pretense was gone, it was obvious; Oliver looked exhausted. _It was funny, but Sam could easily relate._ _It really hadn't taken him long to get used to having Andy there. He was already used to her familiar warmth, the way she had to have at least an arm or a leg on him if he wasn't holding her and how she breathed. Not silent but not quite a snore, just enough to lull him to sleep. He could only imagine how it would be after fourteen years._

Oliver looked over at his friend and knew he knew what he was talking about. "You know if you want to go to McNally's, I'll be fine here alone," Oliver offered knowing full well that he was already over his limit.

Sam returned his gaze. "I know you would, but I'm really in no shape to drive so…"

Oliver smiled. While that may have been true, he also knew that wasn't the real reason; a cab was only a phone call away if Sam really wanted to go. Oliver wasn't going to wax poetic, though; both men knew the value of this friendship so he resorted to what he knew best, what they were both comfortable with, his trademark humor. "She's probably sick of you by now anyway."

Sam grinned along with him.

"Good news is the little old lady next door will probably offer to make you feel better once McNally figures out what an ass you are."

Sam barked out a laugh. "I think we both know who the real ass is here."

Oliver leaned back against the couch looking over at his friend. There had been a lot of laughs over the years but this was the first time he could recall thinking that Sam seemed truly happy. "You know it's nice seeing you like this."

"I should have listened to you sooner," Sam acknowledged.

_Damn right!_ Oliver huffed out a breath. "You know if someone would have told me six months ago that right now you'd be the one of the two of us in the stable relationship, I would've probably called them crazy."

"You and me both, brother, you and me both."

"Just promise me you won't take her for granted. Don't lose sight of what's right in front of you okay? That girl is the best thing that's ever happened to you."

Sam wasn't sure which of the two of them he was trying more to convince. "Hey, I'm supposed to be the one helping you."

Oliver scoffed. "Yeah, well, your advice is shit remember."

"Hey, not all my advice is shit," Sam defended, "I'm the one that told you to propose all those years ago."

Oliver's smile turned wistful as held up his drink in toast. "Best thing I ever did."


End file.
